


Warm Me Up

by orphan_account



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, DMMd Secret Santa, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:50:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not exactly how they planned for Christmas to turn out, but things always end up alright so long as they're together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warm Me Up

**Author's Note:**

> This is my secret santa gift for tumblr user mermaidscalesorsomefin. They requested something with a Christmas theme/a snow day with hot chocolate and this is what I came up with. This is pure fluff and I hope they enjoy it!

Christmas.

It’s funny, Aoba thinks, because he’s never really had a couple’s Christmas before. Or any sort of Christmas. Sure, oftentimes granny would make a nice dinner and they’d have cake for dessert, but he’s never had a real celebration. At least not like they advertised around this time of year, what with fried chicken, presents, and all sorts of gimmicky romantic add-ons.

Then again, he’s never been in a relationship this time of year. Matters are further complicated by the fact that he’s never been in a relationship with another guy before. Speaking of that guy, if anyone is going to go all out and plan a romantic Christmas like out of some sort of movie, it’s Koujaku. It’s the type of thing he lives off of.

“Aoba?”

“Hm? Oh sorry Ren, I spaced out for a second there.” Aoba finally tears his eyes away from the poster advertising a sale on Christmas cookies, “let’s go.”

The two continue onward to the apartment, the grocery bags starting to weigh down on Aoba’s hands. He wonders if he should prepare a present- surely Koujaku is going to give something to him. Unfortunately, Koujaku has to be one of the hardest people to shop for. He never seems to need anything, and when Aoba asks, he insists that Aoba’s feelings are ‘the best present he’s ever received’. Just thinking about that answer makes him blush. Usually he goes for something safe, like high quality sake, but it’s probably time to change it up.

It’s at this point that it starts to dawn on him that maybe he should have started thinking about this sooner. But it’s not like the topic has come up at all. They haven’t really talked about the holiday, even though it’s only a little over a week away. Aoba figures Koujaku wants to ‘surprise’ him, so he hasn’t brought it up himself.

By the time they reach the apartment, Aoba decides not to think about it too hard. He’ll figure out a gift and leave the rest to Koujaku for now.

—-

The morning of the 24th, Aoba is still tucked in bed and fast asleep. He stirs slightly when he hears movement around the room. Seemingly out of nowhere, Koujaku starts whispering in his ear. He’s still a little too tired to take in exactly what Koujaku is saying, only that he has something special planned for that night. Then he feels a peck on his cheek and Koujaku is gone.

It takes Aoba another hour to get out of bed. A conversation with Ren confirms what he heard earlier wasn’t a sleep driven hallucination.

Apparently Koujaku still has work today. A few women wanted to get their hair done, undoubtedly for a date. He’d told Ren he would be back at around five, six at the latest. It’s actually a relief, it gives Aoba some time to take his present out of hiding to finish wrapping it.

He considers cooking something, or decorating a bit, but after what Koujaku said earlier, he doesn't want to intrude upon any plans he may have had.

So Aoba waits. He lazes around with Ren, cleans the house up a bit, and listens to some music. As time goes on, the weather outside goes from calm but cool, to colder and windier by the second.

It’s winter after all, but seeing as Koujaku still has no shop of his own, Aoba has to wonder how he’s doing out there in the cold. Especially since he seems to love going out in his kimono, regardless of the time of year.

Aoba checks the time on his coil for what has to be the hundredth time, sighing as the seconds tick by. Soon, he’s surprised to look out the window and see snow start to flutter down.

Snow is a rare occurrence in Midorijima. One that can’t even be enjoyed at the moment, thanks to the accompanying wind. It looks like a blizzard out there. It probably looks worse than it is, most of the cold is due to the wind that’s currently rattling the window frames. Even so, he can’t help but worry.

“He’s late,” Aoba mumbles to himself.

“Koujaku should arrive promptly,” Ren says.

Aoba motions over to the seat beside him, and Ren hops up onto the couch. Aoba pets his fur slowly, eyes still aimed towards the front door.

“Yeah, I know you’re right Ren.” He says so, but he’s still worried, just hoping that Koujaku hasn’t gotten hurt or lost out there.

Once it's past seven, Aoba decides that he’s had enough. Just as he pulls his jacket on amidst Ren’s protests, the door is unlocked and opened, with Koujaku trudging inside.

“I’m home, Aoba,” he says, looking like a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

Aoba gapes at him. Just as he feared, Koujaku is poorly dressed for the occasion, his clothes completely soaked through. He’s covered in snow, his nose and face are red from the cold, and it looks like his hair has been frozen at the tips.

“You idiot- where have you been?” Aoba asks, racing over and taking hold of his hands which are icy to the touch, “you’re freezing- come on, you have to change.”

“I tried to get him home sooner,” Beni cuts in, flying off of Koujaku’s shoulder and onto Ren. He shakes off ice and melted snow (most of which lands straight onto Ren) and huffs, “but he kept going on about getting a cake and all!”

At this point Aoba notices the plastic bags Koujaku is holding onto. He takes them out of his hands and starts nudging him towards their bedroom, “alright we’ll talk about this after, just get out of those clothes!”

Once he’s made sure that Koujaku has thawed enough to get himself dressed, Aoba examines the contents of the bags.

There’s some cake and chicken (both of which are frozen by now), a few candles, and something wrapped up nicely. Aoba groans.

Beni flies over to him, “I told him there was no point, but he just kept going!”

“Typical Koujaku,” Aoba says, rubbing his temples.

“Aoba, if I may interrupt, I believe Koujaku was simply trying to create an enjoyable atmosphere.”

“I know Ren,” Aoba sighs, “I just wish he hadn’t stayed out there for so long.”

“He’s sure to catch a cold now,” Beni adds. Aoba takes the food and places it on the kitchen counter, over time it should thaw.

When Koujaku returns, in a pair of warm pyjamas and nose still somewhat red from the cold, Aoba glares at him.

“What were you doing walking out there for so long? Were you planning on freezing yourself?”

“No, I just,” Koujaku looks down, like a kicked puppy, “I just thought it would be nice to pick up a few things for the occasion.”

“You hippo, I’d rather spend a normal day with you than have you freeze your ass off like that!” Aoba walks over to him and brushes his hand against Koujaku’s cheeks, “you still feel cold,” he says.

Koujaku gives him a small smile, “I’m sorry. Since it’s our first Christmas as a couple, so I wanted to make it special. It looks like it wasn’t really worth it though,” he says, taking a glance at the frozen food.

“It’s fine,” Aoba says quickly, “I’m sorry for lashing out at you, I was just worried. Besides, if we warm up the chicken and leave the cake for a bit, they should be edible.”

Despite his attempt at reassuring him, Koujaku still looks crestfallen. It’s not like they can do anything about the weather, but Aoba knows that Koujaku is still blaming himself.

Aoba rubs his neck, “…well, I was planning on giving you this later, but since you’ve gone through a lot of trouble until now,” he walks over to the cupboard and pulls out the present he’d hidden earlier. He holds it out to Koujaku, in hopes that maybe a little bit of gift giving will be enough to cheer the man up.

Koujaku raises his eyebrows in surprise, “oh thank you, Aoba. I have something for you too.” He reaches into one of the bags and pulls out the wrapped present Aoba had seen earlier.

“Ah, thanks. You open yours first,” Aoba says after taking the gift, feeling slightly nervous.

Koujaku carefully peels the wrapping paper back, then pulls out a long, red scarf.

“I wasn’t really sure what to get you,” Aoba says, “but I figured you don’t always have stuff for when it gets cold. I guess it would have been better if I’d given it to you earlier.”

“Thank you, Aoba,” Koujaku says, and he looks genuinely happy, much to Aoba’s relief.

He takes the scarf and wraps it around his neck, grinning, “I feel warmer already. Thanks to your love and concern,” he says, still smiling widely even when Aoba smacks him on the shoulder for being embarrassing.

“Now open mine,” Koujaku motions towards the gift Aoba is holding.

It’s kind of heavy. Aoba tears the wrapping apart and finds a cardboard box. Once he gets that open, there are two mugs encased in tissue paper. Curiously, he pulls them out, finding that they’re matching ‘his’ and ‘his’ mugs. Aoba has to stop himself from laughing. Typical Koujaku cheesiness right there.

“What? You don’t like them?” Koujaku asks, frowning, unsure of how to respond to the expression on Aoba’s face, “I thought it’d be nice. We have a couple of sets of two, but nothing like this.”

“Don’t worry Koujaku, I like them,” and he does. Embarrassing as they are it’s kind of cute. And it’s obvious Koujaku put some thought into this, Aoba’s not sure where exactly you can get two ‘his’ mugs. He gives Koujaku a quick kiss on the lips before an idea hits him.

When Koujaku gives him a confused look as he starts to leave, Aoba just points to the kotatsu, “warm yourself up there, okay? I’m just going to make something quick.”

Koujaku obediently sits at the kotatsu, admiring the long scarf he’s now wearing. Ren and Beni take over on the couch, with Ren resting on one cushion and Beni making himself comfortable on top of his head.

Aoba returns a few minutes later, with the mugs in each hand.

“Here,” Aoba sets the mugs down and Koujaku picks one up curiously. He takes a sip and smiles in recognition.

“Hot chocolate?”

“Yeah. If we’re gonna celebrate, we should do it right. Move over a little.”

Koujaku makes way as Aoba squeezes next to him.

“How is it? I’ve never made this before,” Aoba asks, squinting at his own mug before taking a sip himself.

“It’s delicious,” Koujaku replies, taking in the warm chocolate scent, “ah, we’re forgetting something.”

“What?” Aoba asks, turning to look at him.

Wordlessly, Koujaku loosens his scarf then throws it around Aoba’s neck as well. It’s long enough to wrap around the two of them comfortably.

“Really?” Aoba says, deadpan, his voice betraying the redness of his cheeks.

“Really.” Koujaku says, with a smile so bright that Aoba refrains from his usual snarkiness.

The two sit like that for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the hot chocolate, the kotatsu, and each other.

“This isn’t really what I had in mind for tonight,” Koujaku starts, staring into his mug, “but this is good too. Even better than I imagined.” He wraps an arm around Aoba’s waist and pulls him closer.

“Yeah,” Aoba says, leaning in to rest his head on Koujaku’s shoulder.

“…Aoba.”

“Mm?”

“I think I smell something burning.”

“Huh? Crap, I forgot about the chicken!”

Koujaku chuckles at first, until Aoba tries running off. The scarf connecting them brings the two of them tumbling over.

“...Well,” Koujaku says, lying on top of Aoba, “I guess this isn’t so bad.”

“You do realize you’re going to have to get off of me if you don’t want the entire apartment to burn down.” Aoba replies.

“I know,” he replies slowly making his way off of him. Aoba immediately stands up and heads straight for the kitchen, though he slows down before leaving the room completely.

“Koujaku.”

“Yeah?”

“Merry Christmas,” Aoba says.

Koujaku smiles, "thanks Aoba. Merry Christmas to you too."

"While I take care of the chicken could you put those two into sleep mode?" Aoba nods towards their allmates, "so I can give you your second present."

"My second present," Koujaku repeats. Aoba doesn't respond, but Koujaku catches the way his blush manages to travel all the way down his neck. Koujaku scrambles over to the two and manages to put them to sleep faster than Aoba can even reach the kitchen.

All things considered, Christmas didn't turn out so bad after all.


End file.
